HBO put out yet another amazing documentary, called Bastards of the Party, about the history of street gangs in LA. It's really really really interesting if you get a chance to see it.

Anyway...one topic was the warehousing of young black men that California is engaged in...in the last 15 years quite a large percentage have been incarcerated due to the made-up "war" on "drugs".

It got me to wonder, when we talk about the unemployment rate falling - are incarcerated people counted as employed, unemployed, or...?

And don't forget about the effects of having a criminal record after they're released. It'llbe a lot harder to get a job and it can also affect their voting rights (depending on if they're in for a misdemeanor or felony and the laws of whatever state they're in).